The Mountaineering & Trekking Club founded in 1971 was the forerunner of the Himalayan Explorers' Club (HEC). Between 1971 & 1974 the Institute Sports Association nurtured the Mountaineering & Trekking Club which fostered all mountaineering, trekking and outward bound activities amongst science, engineering and professional student community of the Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee.

In addition to organizing mountaineering and high altitude trekking expeditions, rock and ice craft training camps, HEC has during the last ten years pioneered in the field of organizing a new generation of Himalayan expeditions which seek to combine high adventure feats with a whole range of specialized creative endeavors in the Himalayas.